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Thursday, October 22, 2009

I've never made a souffle' before. Come to think of it, I've never eaten a savory souffle'. Oh sure, I've indulged in a rich chocolate souffle'. I used to indulge in a Grand Marnier Souffle at a local restaurant that, sadly, closed after many years. But, Blue Cheese? I had to think about that, since I like blue cheese, but I'm not crazy about it.

I spotted this cheese at Trader Joe's and I thought this would make a nice combination, and would tone down the blue cheese a bit.

Yes, this would do nicely! So I grated a little over 3 ounces of this-- it's delicious!

I made sure that I had my mise en place (which I usually call "mess in place"). It's crucial, I think, when I'm trying out a new recipe that might pose a challenge. The last thing I need is to find out that something is missing!

I read the directions a few times, and realized that this wasn't that hard to make. I would make a roux, add cheese, whip eggs whites and fold it in. How hard could that be? Ready? Here we go!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter the inside of an 8-cup souffle dish (7 ½ inches in diameter and 3 ¼ inches deep) and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.NOTE: I used 4 small ramekins and make "collars" with parchment paper so the souffle could rise higher. I had also read, somewhere, that coating the souffle dish with cornmeal helps the souffle to rise better. So I followed Ina's instructions to use Parmesan on two ramekins and I used cornmeal on the other two-- as an experiment.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Off the heat, whisk in the hot milk (I heated it in the microwave for about 90 seconds), ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, the cayenne, and nutmeg.

Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, until smooth and thick.

NOTE: It took more like 3-4 minutes to become thick, for me.

Off the heat, while still hot, whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time. Stir in the Roquefort and the ¼ cup of Parmesan and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Put the egg whites, cream of tartar, and a pinch of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Beat on low speed for 1 minute, on medium speed for 1 minute, then finally on high speed until they form firm, glossy peaks.

Whisk ¼ of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to lighten and then fold in the rest.

Pour into the souffle dish, then smooth the top.NOTE: I think I should have added the collar at the end (I could have used kitchen twine, but I taped it) I had no way of smoothing out the top!

Draw a large circle on top with the spatula to help the souffle rise evenly (used a long knife to do this), and place in the middle of the oven.NOTE: I set the ramekins on a baking tray.
Turn the temperature down to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (don't peek!) until puffed and brown.NOTE: My baked for about 22 minutes, since they were in smaller ramekins.

My first souffle's. NOTE TO SELF: Make the collars smaller next time!

Yes! It worked! Yeah, they're not quite so smooth on top-- okay, they're not smooth at all! But, they sure puffed up and smelled fantastic.

That's a puffy souffle'!

I think that the corn meal vs. the parmesan cheese didn't make any dramatic difference in how the souffle' rose. I will say, though, that the dishes were super easy to clean.

I thought that a salad would be perfect with this meal. I drop into Stacey Snacks blog on a regular basis. I love her recipes-- they're simple, made with fresh ingredients and she's also a really friendly blogger. I always learn something new about French & Italian cooking from her (she's knows a lot about catering and gourmet recipes). She posted a beautiful Alsatian Tarte Flambe (which I plan to make) and her favorite French salad. I had every single ingredient to maker her salad-- spring salad mix with frisee', walnuts (which toasted in a dry skillet... I had white balsamic vinegar and walnut oil, too!

The only thing I didn't have was Gruyere' Cheese. I did, however, have Manchego Cheese from Spain:

Toss all ingredients together with dressing, and you have a wonderful French salad.

It's light and refreshing. Stace, it's a winner!

Souffle's deflate quickly, so photographing meant I had to work fast! You need to serve these immediately. Fortunately, the salad was ready to go so that I could get this meal on the dinner table, quickly.

The souffle' was, indeed, airy and very light. Craig and I both liked the cheese flavor, but it wasn't overpowering.

Craig and two and I hate one and a half. It was satisfying, but not a heavy meal at all.

I'm so glad that I can cross "learn to make a souffle" off my list of things to learn. Would I make this again? Maybe. It's good, but I much prefer a dessert souffle'.

It certainly kicked up my culinary self-taught lessons up a notch. I don't know what I was so afraid of!

28 comments:

I have the same bullet on my list that I need to cross off! I recently discovered that you can buy "only egg whites" that come in a container, in the egg aisle of my grocery store (yes, I know, I live under a rock 'coz everyone probably knew that!). I think I'll use that, instead of separating perfectly good eggs & wondering what to do with the yolks. LOVE blue cheese, but u're right that it can be overpowering - these turned out beautiful, so congrats!!!

Fantastic results! I haven't made a souffle in a long time, and I haven't ever attempted a blue cheese souffle. That is my absolute favorite cheese, so I think you've now tempted me into a new souffle project!

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